Office Cubicles Aren't That Bad

Office cubicles have gotten a bad wrap in the last couple of years for a lot of reasons, one of them being the movie Office Space. But the truth of the matter is that office cubicles allow office workers to have a fairly comfortable and open environment, that also has some degree of privacy. Office partitions really started to gain traction in the 1980s.

Office cubicles may seem like torture to some but before the advent of cubicles office workers were usually put against a wall or in large rows. People usually had very little privacy and distractions were intolerable. Private offices have long been reserved for bosses and supervisors. The exception where open concept replaced a closed concept layout would be in schools which have found it much more budget friendly and efficient to use an open concept type of arrangement.

One of the major benefits of using cubicles is that they are easy to upgrade and it is easy to upgrade other hardware, cabling and wiring that may exist. Along with being able to populate a new office quickly with few build out cost cubicles do offer other benefits as well.

Cubicle design has greatly progressed in the last couple of years and a fully outfitted cube is often more functional than an office of a similar size. There are dedicated power outlets and multimedia plugs and well as a host of lots of efficient storage. Lighting a cubical can usually be achieved from overhead lights in the office but there are routinely other lighting options available for cubicles.

Planning an entire office layout with high end cubicles can be a demanding a complex task. It would be in your interest to hire an architect than specializes in cubicle office layout to assist you with the planning phase of the job.

Cubicles play an important roll in managing the noise in an office, which can be much louder than would often be expected. The constant drone of keyboards, telephone calls and chit chat can reach a deafening roar. Many cubicles are designed with acoustical canceling properties. Higher end models may even have integrated white noise technology that can lead to a more productive work environment.

Aside from a desk surface and walls there are many other aspects to a cubicle. Cabinets and drawers are all engineered to maximize usable space, there are usually filing systems, task lights, and numerous other accessories that attempt to make your job easier.

With many companies going for an environment that foster teamwork and connectivity the height of cubicle walls has been coming down. With increased noise management systems in place these lower walls can still keep a lot of the privacy in place while promoting a sharing environment. Making sure that all employees have access to ventilation and proper lighting is an important part of promoting a healthy work environment.

Many offices will also partition teams of people that work together into a common cubicle to foster the communication of the team. This seems to work very well and tends to increase productivity of the entire unit.

Working in an open concept environment, despite the effort spent on making it comfortable and productive can still be a distraction place to work. Here are some tips to live by and also to pass on to people who may not be aware that courtesy is important.


Phones are annoying, and phone conversation is also annoying. Keep your conversations short, keep ringers low and unless you must, don’t use speaker phone.

Music, not everyone enjoys listening to your music. If you must listen to music and you are permitted do it with headphones.

Yacking is annoying, to nearly everyone and often the people involved as well. Keep conversations positive and do not gossip in the workplace, it never ends well.

Don’t interrupt people while they are working, it can be hard to get into the zone and once you are there you don’t want to be distracted.

Most offices have eating policies, but it is also a good idea even if you can eat in your cubicle to do it with discretion.

Open concept means that others are around. Keep your area clean and neat, this makes you look more professional and it makes your office appear the same way.

Perfume and other fragrance may smell good to you but it can drive others up the wall of even be a health issue. Don’t overdo it with fragrance.

As with yacking, there is a time for business and a time for personal issues and they should be kept separate. Remember others can hear you when you talk about your personal issues and others don’t want to know.

Office cubicles are a blessing and a curse but the truth is that they are here to stay.